New collaboration project will start!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/586300314/deliciously-happy

Sound In Motion IV - "Sea Collage"

Sea Collage(2011) is composed for illustrating various images of sea. I mixed several sound material of sea and water, recorded sound from real daily life, live performance sound, some electronic sound samples and so on. During the performance, the images of sea will be displayed as the dream of someone goes on. The abstract and mysterious image of sea is emphasized in the first section(beginning-1'35") and the enchanted world under the sea is expressed in the second section(1'35"-4'35"). In the last section, sea reveals its power and darkness(4'35"-8'00").

http://www.theatreproject.org/Shows/SoundInMotionIV:Available/
http://effervescentcollective.org/

-Performance

Sound In Motion IV: Available

November.18.2011 Baltimore Theatre Project, Baltimore, Maryland

Performed by Effervescent Collective

Autumn Sound - "The Tomb of the Naiads" for Solo Piano

A piece for solo piano, "The Tomb of the Naiads(2009)" was successfully performed by pianist Andrew Stewart in the Autumn Sound concert.

The original “The Tomb of the Naiads” (Le Tombeau des Naiades) is a poem by Pierre Louÿs from his collection of 143 prose poems entitled “Songs of Bilitis” (Les Chansons de Bilitis,1894). Using the title of this collection, Claude Debussy set three of the poems to music, including The Tomb of the Naiads (Chansons de Bilitis for voice and piano, 1897–1898).

I wrote a short piano piece to express my impression of both the poem and the song in 2005(Debussy Sketch for Solo Piano). When I started to expand this piano work as The Tomb of Naiads for Solo Piano, I tried to recreate it as a fairly long solo piece interpreting the poem as a new instrumental work.

-Performance

Autumn Sound Concert

October.22.2011 Enoch Pratt Parish Hall, Baltimore, Maryland

Andrew Stewart (Piano)

"The Octopus Lament" was successfully performed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CHAgS5hIBg

Collaborator and composer Jin-Hwa Choi and Lindsey Bailey have written a poem set to music. This piece will be performed as spoken word from inside the mouth of a giant octopus. The octopus will be created out of fabric and draped over the front of the building and stairs of the Troutt Theatre. (http://www.nashvillefringe.org/Festival_Schedule.html)

I'm thinking underwater inspiration ...Weird tremors, awkward and bubbling sounds, classic opera pieces too ... The poem is going to be about love and how each of the tendrils of the Octopus represent a different facet of love ...Think dark. Melancholy. Sad. (- Lindsey Bailey, from one of the brainstorming emails between Jin-Hwa Choi and Ms. Bailey)

This music is composed for the integrative art performance piece, The Octopus Lament by Lindsey Bailey. For illustrating various images related with octopus, water and Ms. Bailey's inspirational ideas, I mixed several sound material such as sea and water sound, recorded sound from real daily life, live performance sound, some electronic sound samples and so on.

In the Music for The Octopus Lament(2011), I tried to express one person's dream-like journey of underwater. In the beginning, sea and the Octopus attract somebody and then he walks into them. He is going to see the fantastic scene of enchanted underwater and the Octopus. However, he realizes that he is captured by them and finally he is not able to escape from their dark and irresistible power of sea and the Octopus.

- Performance

SIDESHOW FRINGE: Nashville's Progressive Performing Arts Event

October.1.2011 Belmont Troutt Theatre, Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee

Megan Kelley, with music by JinHwa Choi

"The Octopus Lament" in the SIDESHOW FRINGE: Nashville's Progressive Performing Arts Event

The Octopus Lament in the SIDESHOW FRINGE: Nashville's Progressive Performing Arts Event

Sep.30.2011 - Oct.02.2011

http://www.nashvillefringe.org/

With a wonderful artist Lindsey Bailey(http://www.cakecrush.com), I'm going to present my work, Music for The Octopus Lament(2011) in Nashiville's SIDESHOW FRINGE festival. This project is a collaboration of various genre of art. With Bailey's octopus object, music, dance and poetry will be combined.

24HC:Twenty-Four Hour Concert - "A Threnody for a Little Suck-a-Thumb" (2011)

A Threnody for a Little Suck-a-Thumb (2011)

Based on Heinrich Hoffman’s “Struwwelpeter” I composed a piece for unhappiness, irritation and trauma.

(click to view the original story)

- Performance

24HC : Twenty-Four Hour Concert

April.16.2011 The Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University

Jisoo Kim(Baritone)

Alyssa Kennedy(Trumpet)

Will Marrin(Trombone)

"Hibernation Season" for Cello Solo(2010)

Hibernation Season for Cello Solo(2010)

"But who can say what's best? That's why you need to grab whatever chance you have of

happiness where you find it, and not worry about other people too much. My experience tells me that we get no more than two or three such chances in a life time, and if we let them go, we regret it for the rest of our lives."

(Murakami Haruki, "Norwegian Wood")

"The world didn't stop. I could feel it in my skin, even sitting alone in my apartment. Though little did it compel me to show interest. It was like a silent breath of air, breezing past me."
(Murakami Haruki, "Dance, Dance, Dance")

These quotes were the starting point of my work. The year of 2009 was very difficult times for me and when it finished I was totally exhausted. It felt like I was in a long nightmare or mentally paralyzed. In Hibernation Season for Cello Solo(2010), I tried to illustrate the feeling of depressed period of life by using musical ideas and about regrets as well.

-Performance

Composition Department Recital

April.7.2011 Cohen-Davison Theater, The Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University

Dorotea Racz(Violoncello)

Recording of "Flute Songs" : Three Piece for Flute and Piano (2010)

Flute Songs : Three Piece for Flute and Piano (2010)

I. Broken Nest
II. Tears
III. Ditty

- Performance

Composition Department Recital

Mar.9.2011 Griswold Hall, The Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University

Esther Choi(Flute)
Tian Lu(Piano)

Baltimore Composers Forum Concert - "Flute Songs" : Three Piece for Flute and Piano (2010)

Flute Songs : Three Piece for Flute and Piano (2010)

I. Broken Nest
II. Tears
III. Ditty

In the " Flute Songs : Three Piece for Flute and Piano", I brought back the idea about music for flute which I have been keeping for a long time. In three short pieces, I intend to each pieces have their own distinctive characteristics.

In the "Broken Nest" with "dark and agitate", flute leaps around with slow and sustained chord progressions of piano. In the "Tears" with "gloomy and melancholic", flute expresses its melody freely with disturbing repetitive piano sounds. The "Ditty" has contrasting feeling with previous two pieces. With "cheerful and bright", flute and piano shares chat-like conversation each other.

- Performance

Baltimore Composers Forum Concert

March.5.2011 An die Musik LIVE, Baltimore, Maryland

Andrea Ceccomori(Flute) http://www.ceccomori.it/
Elitza Harbova(Piano) www.simc-italia.it/siti/harbova.htm

Christopher Rouse Master Class - "With Issa" : Seven Pieces for Solo Violin (2007)

With Issa : Seven Pieces for Solo Violin (2007)

I. caged bird -- watching the butterfly with envy
II. dewdrops scatter -- the sparrow sings of next-life salvation
III. cherry blossoms scatter -- a nightingale and I singing
IV. in evening moonlight -- going bare-chested ... snail
V. in the tree shade -- dwelling with a butterfly ... friends in a previous life
VI. just touching -- the cherry blossom petals bring tears
VII. the bird is singing -- but it ain't blooming ... plum tree

The purpose in composing this work was to study the sound and techniques of the solo violin. For the inspiration for musical expression, I looked to six poems by the traditional Japanese poet, Kobayashi Issa.

All of the movements of my work are very descriptive based on my interpretation of each Haiku. For example, the first movement describes the Haiku's content fairly directly, such as the bird's envy and agitation (narrow intervals) and the butterfly's movement (large leaps). The second and fifth movements are intermezzo-like fast pieces. In the third movement, I put an emphasis on contrasting between pizzicato and arco. For technical study, I intend the performer to play additional notes while holding an open string in the fourth movement. The last movement is a study in plucking string technique.

- Performance

Christopher Rouse Master Class

Feb.10.2011 The Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University

Martiros Shakhzadyan(Violin)

"Echo" for Two Oboes and English Horn

Echo for Two Oboes and English Horn (2010)

In the beginning of composing this piece for three instruments in oboe family, it was challenging that handle those same or similar sound. When I designed a basic idea, the concept of echo was came across my mind. Especially, as remaining sound the reverberation. which I had heard after the echo on the top of the mountain, was attractive inspiration.

With this idea, I composed a piece focusing on the procession of gradual sound changes in slow tempo. However, the first completed version of "Echo" was somewhat imperfect. Even though it seemed to achieve the basic idea well, but musically it sounded flat and colorless. When I began to revise the piece, I tried to compress loosely spread musical ingredient. Additionally, I divided the piece as three sections and added some passages for rhythmic diversity and alternating motives.

For "Echo", the revising was seemed to be equal with composing new work in the end. It was painful when I confronted numerous moment of discarding or manipulating sound from the original piece. However, I believe the pain was worth, because the more I struggled with my music, the more I felt the sound be polished.

- Performance

Composition Department Recital

Feb.9.2011 Griswold Hall, The Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University

Ursula Sahagian(1st Oboe)
Elizabeth Honeyman(2nd Oboe)
Victoria Ritter(English Horn)